Garden News October 24

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October 24, 2015

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JOBS TO DO !

THIS WEEK ✔ Prune climbing roses for even better flowers ✔ Get your garden ready for winter ✔ Start a new raspberry bed

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ideas!

ack in colour p to s th n sa ry ch y as ●E play your blooms is d to s ay w t n ia ll ri B ●

IT'S TULIP TIME! Plant now for a beautiful spring

AboutNOW

Hales looking at you!

Shropshire village scoops top award

Judges praised impactful plantings

Words Ian Hodgson

A

Local children tend planters (above).

Pollinator-friendly displays (below)

Photos: RHS Britain in Bloom

Ahoghill in Northern Ireland

City of Birmingham

tiny village dating back to Domesday has been crowned ‘Champion of Champions’ at the prestigious annual RHS Britain in Bloom awards last week. But progressive residents of Norton in Hales, numbering just 300, never have time to dwell on illustrious heritage – they’re too busy ensuring their village is always in tip-top shape. And their hard work has finally paid off. Locals grew many of the pollinator-friendly plants for the yellow-and-blue-themed scheme in their own greenhouses, sowed patches of wildflowers, and sponsored new planters for this year’s displays. Recycling is also top of their agenda, with various groups managing communal compost heaps, using waste coffee grounds for soil improvement and installing water butts. They also tend their

own beehives. Judges who praised the ‘sheer variety of plants on display, which made a tremendous impact’, assessed each entry for horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility.

From 70 finalists attending the ceremony in Sunderland, other winners in the 14 categories included Ahoghill in Northern Ireland, coastal resort Cleethorpes, London Bridge district and the cities of Birmingham and Dundee. ● For a full list of winners, visit www.rhs.org.uk/britaininbloom

Science Centre, Dundee

London Bridge district

Pumpkins perform, but no record The Paton brothers with T&M manager Paul Hansord (centre)

4 Garden News / October 24 2015

T

hey came – but didn’t conquer! Although Britain’s titans battled it out last week at the annual Autumn utumn Pumpkin Festival, near ear Southampton, no British records ecords were broken. Veg veterans eterans the Paton brothers, Ian an and Stuart, triumphed again gain at the Thompson & Morgan (T&M) sponsored event, with an 844.13kg (1,861lb) 1,861lb) monster, an

agonising 10.4kg (23lb) short of the 854.56kg (1,884lb) UK record-buster they delivered last year. But it could have been very different, as three larger pumpkins in the brothers’ new state-of-the-art greenhouse all burst, after piling on 15.8kg (35lb) a day. Rules state all entries must be free of splits or breaks. Even so, the brothers’ smallest fruit still beat the nearest rival by 246kg (543lb).

Prize for prettiest pumpkin went to Welsh grower Mark Josey for his 398.6kg (878.9lb) symmetrical beauty.

Back at T&M headquarters, the champion fruit is being harvested for seed, and the fruit has been donated to World Vision, a charity supporting children enduring hardship around the world. ● Visit www.worldvision.org.uk/ carveaheart

5 easy-care mums to try

Halls of Heddon

‘Percy Salter’ These caramel-coloured blooms are very weather tolerant, ideal for rainy gardens. Height: 90cm (3ft).

Woolmans

‘Mrs Jessie Cooper’ Brilliantly-coloured single flowers to light up the border or use in a vase.

Height: 60-90cm (2-3ft).

Plant

Woolmans

OF THE WEEK

‘Early Yellow’

Chrysanthemums!

In bloom from July until the frosts, the soft yellow flowers look good in the border or in pots. Height: 60-90cm (2-3ft).

Easy outdoor blooms keep your garden and vases full of autumn colour, if you choose hardy varieties

The name chrysanthemum translates as golden flower. It was first grown in China and was brought to England in 1798.

Keep them happy Choose a sunny, open site for your plants. Chrysanthemums like a slightly acid soil but they’ll grow in most well-cultivated fertile soils. Plant ready-potted chrysanthemums at the same depth they were in the pot. Plug plants need potting up into small pots and grown on before planting out in summer after risk of frost. Space the plants 45cm (18in) apart. Stake tall varieties with a cane. If you’re growing chrysanthemums in containers, plant in a soil-based compost such as John Innes No 2. ● Woolmans, tel: 0333 003 1671; www.woolmans.com ● Halls of Heddon, www.hallsofheddon.com

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‘Peggy’ Masses of small vibrant coral flowers, blooming from August to November.

Height: 60-90cm (2-3ft).

Woolmans

Fa ct

glowing bronze and burgundy, they’re ideal for a generous display in the garden, plus plenty to cut for the house.

Garden-hardy mums are perennial in most parts of the UK. Breeders have worked hard to produce chrysanthemums that are able to stand up to adverse weather, enduring cold as well as wind and rain. But if your garden gets very cold just overwinter your favourites in pots, bringing them undercover to ensure the plants emerge unscathed next year.

Woolmans

N

ot many flowers are quite so colourful or bloom so prolifically in autumn as chrysanthemums.

Unlike the intricately-curved, single flowers of exhibition chrysanthemums, these hardy spray varieties are more modestly formed, and they’re much easier to grow.

The new generation of garden hardy chrysanthemums are in flower from summer until the frosts. Each strong stem bears sprays of flowers, in shades to suit every taste. From pale pastels to

‘Spartan Fire’ Flowers like curling flames in red and gold on strong, fully hardy plants.

Height: 60-90cm (2-3ft).

October 24 2015 / Garden News 5

Halls of Heddon

What to do this week

IN YOUR FLOWER GARDEN

Prepare for bad weather Don’t get caught out by sudden gales and gusts, says Melissa

T

he first frosts are just around the corner and though autumn can be warm and settled, it has the potential to deliver gales too. So batten down the hatches in your garden now to prevent a sudden blast of bad weather doing more damage than necessary.

Remove and store ornaments, obelisks or light pieces of furniture that could get blown over, or at least make sure they are secured to the ground or wall. Take down nets that are no longer needed for keeping birds off fruit so they don’t get shredded by wind or weighed down by snow come winter.

Stake any newly-planted trees to prevent wind-rock, which can

Ste p by ste p

1

Carefully take down fruit nets to prevent them being shredded by wind.

28 Garden News / October 24 2015

damage roots. Drive stakes into the ground so that they stick out into the direction of the prevailing wind (usually south west) for the greatest security.

Move tender plants into a frostfree place such as a light shed or greenhouse. Plants that are hardy but benefit from frost protection, such as potted figs and bays, can be wrapped with fleece – tie it around the pot and gather it around the stem. If you can’t do that, move them out of strong winds and somewhere that catches plenty of winter sun.

You can protect other potted hardy plants from waterlogging by raising them off the ground – pop them on pot feet or bricks to prevent them sitting in water.

Batten down the hatches!

2

Stow away ornaments and plant supports to stop them ge ing blown over.

3

Wrap up any po ed plants that aren’t fully hardy with fleece.

4

Move tender plants such as tradescantia indoors to a frost-free place.

Feed your box hedging To give your box hedging a bit of a boost now, it’s a good idea to treat it to a little fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone, which will encourage strength and healthiness through the winter. Perhaps the foliage looks a little bit worse for wear and is turning slightly bronze-coloured? Fear not, if it seems otherwise healthy – it could just be stress due to environmental factors such as too much recent rain or too much sun. Simply sprinkle a liberal amount of the dry feed through the soil at the base of your box and, if you can, work it into the soil with a fork.

Keep planting!

Help osteospermum get through winter

Photos: Neil Hepworth, unless stated

Any flower that looks this cheerful in mid-October is hard to resist, and echinacea ‘Maui Sunshine’ lives up to its name. Plant perennials such as echinacea now into warm, weed-free soil. Plant so the base of the stem is at the same depth as it was in the pot. With the promise of autumn rains, perennials planted now will quickly settle into their new homes before the onset of winter weather.

Osteospermum planted in borders with other late-flowering plants such as crocosmia should be lifted now for overwintering. These colourful daisies give bags of value, producing blooms from mid-summer until the frosts with regular deadheading. They will give you colour next year, too, if you look after them over winter. Cut down the foliage by about half, pot them up in a container slightly larger than their root ball using multi-purpose compost, then water and move them somewhere light and frost free until the risk of frost has passed next spring.

GEOFF HODGE

Tools for THE JOB Writer, TV and radio broadcaster and GN product guru

BEST PRUN PRUNING SAW

Bulldog Tools Premier Pruning Saw £19.55

BEST SMALLER PRUNING NG SAW

Felco Small Saw F621 £51.99 This tied with the th Bulldog for quality off cuts, but is more pricey. The straight straigh blade is hard-chrome ard-chrome plated for rust resistance and has a 23cm (9in) cu ing length. It took just 18 to 20 strokes to cut through 4cm (1½in) diameter wood. It has a comfortable grip, hand protector and a ‘thumb point’ to help apply pressure. It has a protective sheath, and replacement parts are available.

Supplier: 0116 234 4611, www.uk.felco.com

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BEST COMFORT PRUNING SAW AW

Wilkinson Sword Pruning Saw & Holster £19.99 This saw featu features a straight, high-carbon Japanese panese steel blade with a 26.5cm (10½ (10½in) cu ing length. ength.

It took 28 to 30 strokes to cut through the 4cm (1½in) diameter wood. It is light and balanced, making it easy to use, and has a very comfortable, contoured, non-slip soft plastic grip. It comes with a protective plastic sheath.

Supplier: 08458 941599, www.wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk

Photos: Jacques Portal

The Best Buy in my previous test retains its crown. The curved, stainless-steel blade has a 32cm (12½in) cu ing length and produced plenty of bite into the wood. It took just 19 to 22 strokes to cut through 4cm (1½in) diameter wood.

It has a comfortable soft plastic grip. Replacement blades are available.

Supplier: 01279 401572, www.bulldogtools.co.uk

Geoff Hodge updates his 2011 test for f r the best pruning ning saws

October 24 2015 / Garden News 29